I come from relatively recent immigrants, and married into a family of immigrants as well. One set of grandparents was born In Ireland and the other in Lithuania; they came over here through Ellis Island as adults and settled in communities of others like them. My grandparents and aunts and uncles all spoke two, sometimes three languages. They encountered severe discrimination and some of them felt shame about their origins, accents and language skills. They worked in laundries and on delivery trucks. My aunt Mary lost her arm in a mangle, and would not go back to Ireland to visit because she didn’t want the family there to see what had happened to her here. They had come over on boats to find a better life. Their children flourished. I married into a Hungarian family; my husband was the first to be born here. Krusoe is an Ellis Island name.

I lived in Southern California until I moved to Oregon in 1990. Most of my experience is with people who have immigrated from Mexico, or who migrate seasonally. My family also went south over the border yearly, so I have a sense of human and cultural fluidity. One time, we walked down a street in Puerto Vallarta when it was a village, and everyone was sitting outside their doors. It was evening, and cool and fragrant with blooms from the river and jungle. As we passed the houses, one after another, people murmured a greeting. I remember it as “dias,” the same one word, over and over, dias, dias, dias, almost whispered. When I think of what it has always felt like to have people from Mexico and South America move among us, it is like that murmur.

My pieces in Beyond Borders: Stories of im/Migration reflect that movement, that murmur, which has always felt like an embrace. I have focused on the part of migration that is about the search for food and home, a moving-toward rather than a flight-from. The cruelties and injustices are something I did see as well: the cramped workers’ camps, the short-handled hoes, the bent backs. Men in groups on street corners, waiting for work. Women in affluent neighborhoods, waiting for buses. And I have read about the things I have not seen: the flight from unspeakable suffering, destroyed homes, and danger; and border crossings: death in the desert, in the river, in trucks.

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STORIES fromBeyond Borders

WHYTo move beyond the stereotypes, to grow a compassionate community and to personalize experiences of migration, immigration, assimilation, arrests and deportation.

WHO CAN SHARE THEIR STORIESAnyone who has personal or observed experiences with migration, immigration, assimilation, arrests and/or deportation issues within the U.S. or other countries.

WHAT KIND OF STORIESWhy did you migrate? What was migration like for you?Did you choose to leave your home or did the political or environmental situation in our homeland force you to leave? Where did you want to go and why? Did you have a choice as to where you went? What happened during immigration? How were you received in your new country? Did you feel secure in your new country? Were you able to create the new life you imagined? How did you and your family assimilate? What kind of resources did you find helpful? What were/are the challenges? Do you feel that your new community has accepted you into it? Do you feel like a citizen of your new country? If so, what made you feel that way? What did you bring with you and why are those things important to you? What did you leave behind? What do you fear? Do you fear being deported? Have you or any of your family been deported? Been threatened with deportation? If so, what happened? Have you been in a deportation center or a refugee camp? And, any other stories you feel can help us become a more understanding, inclusive community.

WHAT KIND OF FORMATSWe encourage you to send stories, photos, even videos to us. You may choose whether or not to use your real name or a pseudonym. Do not be concerned about perfect spelling, grammar, or form. What is important is your story. It can be conversational, bullet points, poetic, a series of phrases.. whatever method works for you.

We will accept stories in any language (if you wish to include an English translation, your story length may be doubled). Stories may be short paragraphs to 1200 words. You may include photographs up to 1 GB, .mp4 videos less than 1 GB or links to Vimeo/YouTube, and links to online material. We can also include a downloadable document.

HOWPlease email to Blog.GutfreundCornettArt@gmail.com

​WHERETo expand our dialogue as far as possible, in addition to this blog, we may share your story on our Facebook Page (Gutfreund Cornett Art), our Twitter (@GCA_Art), in the online and printed catalogs for our exhibition "Beyond Borders: Stories of im/Migration" and with visitors to that exhibition.